Black & Decker heats up the mop category

The units use water to kill 99.9% of germs to achieve a deep down clean, according to the company.

“We’ve identified four areas with steam cleaning products that were in need of improvement and innovation:steam mops that are difficult to fill, units with awkward controls, insufficient cleaning power, and units that are unable to access difficult areas like tight corners,” said Austin Wilcox, product manager at Black & Decker. “The new Black & Decker Steam Cleaning Units allow users to clean multiple floor surface types like tile, vinyl, stone, marble and even sealed hardwood. Consumers are able to get a deep down clean using only water.”

Here’s the new lineup: The SmartSelect Deluxe Steam Mop with Handle Command, the 2-in-1 SmartSelect with Handle Command, the SmartSelect Steam Mop and the Handheld Steamer.

SmartSelect technology lets consumers choose a steam setting to address individual floor types. SmartSelect provides three different steam settings that correspond to different floor types to produce the right amount of steam to clean the selected floor material.

All of the new steam mop units have an automatic upright shutoff, which helps protect floors from damage during pauses in cleaning, a 15-second heat-up time and a ready-to go illumination tank that changes from red to blue to let users know when the steam mop reaches the correct temperature.